In English, the idea of "going for a walk" and "going for a hike" are somewhat different.

If I want to go for a walk, I might go to my friend's house and then we walk around her neighborhood or along a little creek behind her house or somewhere else nearby that is easy to get to and probably easy-ish walking....

If I want to go for a hike, it's usually something that is planned ahead of time, is done while on a trip to a place that has a lot of nature, and hiking is somewhat more of a rugged thing to do.... When I think of "hiking", I think of forests and mountains and many hours and backpacks and water bottles and so on....

When you say "caminata", the word makes me think of "walking" because of "caminar". Is there a difference in Spanish between "going for a walk" and "going for a hike"?

Usually, when you go for a hike you "haces una caminata" (forest, mountain, hill, country, etc.), with slopes or not. You can also say "me voy de excursión (though a "excursión" can be cultural as well, for instance, to visit a museum).

When you go for a walk you "paseas" (city, country, town).

But sometimes, if you're walking long time in the city (shopping or going to some different places), when you arrive home you say: "¡me he pegado una caminata...!", with the sense of you've walked a lot and you're exhausted.

Usually, when you go for a hike you "haces una caminata" (forest, mountain, hill, country, etc.), with slopes or not. You can also say "me voy de excursión (though a "excursión" can be cultural as well, for instance, to visit a museum).

When you go for a walk you "paseas" (city, country, town).

But sometimes, if you're walking long time in the city (shopping or going to some different places), when you arrive home you say: "¡me he pegado una caminata...!", with the sense of you've walked a lot and you're exhausted.

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Originally Posted by Perikles

Thanks Irma - it look as if paseo and caminata have exactly the same kind of overlap as walk and hike.

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Originally Posted by irmamar

Do you say also that you've gone for a hike when you've been walking a long time in the city?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perikles

I have heard this said as rhetorical exaggeration when exhausted after a long shopping expedition. It is clearly not technically correct, but the 'hike' suggests something (unexpectedly) strenuous.

Quote:

Originally Posted by irmamar

So, it's the same, but I think that here is more common and it's not seen as a rhetorical exaggeration. Thanks, that's good to know.

Excellent! That is exactly what I was getting at. It was the similarity between the words "caminar" and "caminata" that made me wonder. You are definitely describing the same overlap of meaning/usage that we have here in the United States. Thanks to both of you, Perikles and Irmamar!